Hand needles pre-date the written history of mankind. Bone needles broadly similar in appearance to those still in use today have been found by archaeologists among the remains of early man. The advent of metal technology resulted in greatly improved needles and the invention by Howe of the sewing machine, which uses a special needle with an eye near the point, is considered revolutionary, not only in sewing but in society. Some historians have credited it with lowering the cost of clothing so that the working man could afford a stylish suit. No longer could the rich man or the workingman necessarily be told by the "cut of his cloth."
In use, sewing needles, whether for sewing machines or hand, have suffered from one annoying drawback: the problem of threading the needle. The Bible alludes to the problem (Luke 18:25). The elderly, those with bad eyesight, or shaky hands, find it nearly impossible. In industrial applications, considerable time of garment workers, seamstresses, tailors, etc. is wasted in the difficult threading operation.
Others have attempted to make easy-threading needles in the past. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,031,116; 3,473,710; 3,525,460; and 3,531,030, But these have met with little or no success in the marketplace. These proposed solutions have generally suffered from the fact that they allow the needle to become unthreaded, or else that they include sharp projections which snag the cloth or other material in which the needle is used, or that they are too complex, difficult and expensive to make, or that they are nearly as difficult to thread as the ordinary needle.